Material relevant to the first assignment - the comparing and contrasting of two different cultures.

1. Comparing & Contrasting Cultures
The Amish
HE Access - Sociological Perspectives:
Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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2. The Amish Culture
Roles, norms, values & beliefs

3. Be not conformed…
 The Amish society has little, if any, desire to
participate in our modern world, doing so
only when necessary.
 Avoiding technology
 Preserving traditions
 Maintaining strict and clearly defined gender
roles …
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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4.  A very religious people
 The Amish dress in a
particular way:
 With ‘traditional’ plain
dress clothes (passed
down through
generations)
 With hats for men and
headdress for women
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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5. This presentation will set out to start to
examine their culture:
Focusing on some of the Amish roles, norms and
beliefs in more depth,
In doing this, we can then compare the Amish
culture to more contemporary westernised /
consumer culture.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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6. Some of their core beliefs are:
 The church is a covenant community
 ‘Errant’ members are excluded from communion
(and in extreme cases, the community)
 They follow a strict and literal obedience to the
teachings of Christ
 They reject violence (and therefore war)
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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7. Amish Culture
The Amish belief system rules, religion &
lifestyle

8. Amish Religious Life
 Amish are Christians, with all traditional
Christian beliefs in the Divinity of Christ, the
Trinity, salvation, etc.
 The Ordnung, roughly translated it means
order, is a set of oral laws which regulate all
aspects of Amish society, from religion to
family life.
 It is not something written down, instead all
Amish verbally pass it on
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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9. Examples of Practices Prescribed by
the Ordnung:
 color and style of clothing
 hat styles for men
 order of the worship service
 kneeling for prayer in worship
 marriage within the church
 use of horses for fieldwork
 use of Pennsylvania German
 steel wheels on machinery
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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10.  air transportation
 central heating in homes
 electricity from public power lines
 entering military service
 jewelry, including wedding rings and wrist watches
 joining worldly (public) organizations
 owning computers, televisions, radios
 using tractors for fieldwork
 wall-to-wall carpeting (Kraybill 116)
Examples of things prohibited by the
Ordnung
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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11. Yielding or submission …
 Within the Amish community, a term is often
used to describe their life style. This word is
Gelassenheit. It means, roughly translated, a
yielding or submission, and it signifies the Amish
life.
 Gelassenheit involves submission to the family,
submission to the community, submission to
tradition, submission to the Ordnung, submission
to the church, and, submission to God.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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12. Old Order Amish
Old Order Amish ‘roles, values or
beliefs’?

13. Old Order Amish
 It is the picture of the
Old Order Amish with
their plain clothes and
buggies that usually
springs to mind, when
considering the Amish.
 Old Order Amish
communities have deviated
little from the ‘regulations’
established by Jakob
Amman over 300 years
ago.
Old Order Amish at a horse auction
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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14.  The Old Order still dress plainly; they do not use
electricity; they do not own or drive cars, do not have
telephones in their homes, and forbid the use of most
modern farm equipment, including air-filled tires.
 In Old Order Amish homes, all lighting is supplied
by candle or oil and gas lamp.
 However, bottle-gas appliances are acceptable under
the Ordnung, (the verbal standards or rules that the
Amish live by).
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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15. The Old Order: Some Characteristics
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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16.  Strict clothing regulations:
 Men wear black suits without lapels or buttons,
 white or blue shirts,
 black braces, black shoes or boots
 broad-brimmed hats in black felt or natural straw.
 Old Order women wear a frock type dress of mid-calf to ankle
length with black stockings,
 an apron, black shoes or boots, black cape, and either a white
"prayer cap" (if baptized) or a black hood.
 The idea behind the dress code is not only that it sets
them apart from the world, but that is also eliminates
pride and envy.
The Old Order: Roles, Values, Norms?
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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17.  Men crop their hair, and
wear beards, if married,
but not mustaches as
they are associated with
the military.
 Women do not cut their
hair but wear it tied in a
bun on their head, which
is always covered once
she is baptized.
The Old Order: Roles, Values, Norms?
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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18.  The Old Order Amish make their own clothes, although
they do purchase the fabric. Hats, braces, and shoes can
be bought ready-made.
 The buggies they drive vary according to purpose. The
“family” buggy will always be covered. Young people
drive open buggies, such as the one in the photo above.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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19. New Order Amish
Similarities and differences to Old Order Amish
Different ‘roles, values or beliefs’?

20. New Order Amish
 The important thing to remember when studying the
Amish is that there are many variations within the
culture. Some are more strict then others in matters
of religion and society codes. Adherence varies from
affiliation to affiliation: some allow one thing while
banning another.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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21. New Order Amish
 For example, New Order Amish vary greatly from
the Old Order in daily life, but not in religious
practice.
 New Order Amish are more progressive than the Old
Order but still restrictive in the use of modern items.
 They use telephones in their homes, allow air operated
equipment, electrical generators, bicycles, and gas
pressurized lights. They also allow the use of rubber air-
filled tires. However, horses are still mandated for field
work and transportation. They do not own or drive cars.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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22. Amish Culture
The essential and pivotal role of the Family

23.  Families are a cornerstone of the Amish
community, and as such, marriage is an
important part of life.
 Nine out of every ten adult Amish are married.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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24. Amish and The Family
 Most couples meet at “singings,” which are similar
to country dances. Both must be members of the
church to marry.
 The Amish believe large families are a blessing from
God, so contraception is not practiced. The typical
Amish family has 8.5 children.
 By the age of forty-five, an Amish woman has
probably given birth to seven children.
 Under the Ordnung, divorce is not allowed
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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25. Amish and The Family
 Children are usually born at
home and attend school only
through the eighth grade (12-
14).
 Amish children walk to
school, which are usually one
room buildings.
 After this age, children are
schooled at home, learning
and working alongside their
family until they marry and
start a family of their own.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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26.  In Amish society, woman are viewed as equal
partners in the marriage, but it is the man
who holds authority in the family and the
church.
 Wives are expected to submit to their
husbands.
 All women help with all aspects of family
chores, although men seldom help with
household type work.
Amish, the Family & Women
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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27. Amish Culture
The role of the Collaboration &
Community

28. Amish Collaboration & Community
 Amish ‘barn rising’ is
another aspect of their
culture that most
people know about.
 The barn is started in
the morning and
finished by that night.
 All of the community
comes together …
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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29.  During one day work/social events, like the barn
raising, hundreds of people come together
 This is the way that schools are built, fields are
planted
 Women may gather to help clean a house or
make a quilt.
 Women also hold Sisters’ Day, where all the
sisters in a family gather one day a month to visit
and chat.
Amish Collaboration & Community
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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30. Amish Culture
Youth Culture & ‘Gangs’

31.  The Rumspringa is a time of life for Amish that
typically begins at the age of sixteen and lasts until
they are married. It loosely translates as “sowing
wild oats.”
 During this time, a young person will join a “gang”
with whom they run around with on the weekends.
 During this period of their lives, the youth are
viewed as falling between the authority of their
parents and the church because they are not yet
baptized.
Youth Culture: Amish Gangs
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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32.  While some gangs are reserved and do no more wild
behavior than hold a dance on Saturday night or a
volleyball game, others may hold parties where beer
kegs will be present, modern music played by live
bands with electric instruments, and all attendees
dress in secular clothing.
 Some gangs place fancy reflective tape on their
buggies, which may have a radio or CD player
hidden inside.
Youth Culture: Amish Gangs
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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33. Amish Culture
Conclusion

34.  The Amish today face increasing pressure to
conform to the world. Until now they have
managed to meld modernity with their
beliefs without much social upheaval.
 Only time will tell if they can continue to do
so successfully.
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Comparison of Culture: The Amish
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